Tesla CEO Elon Musk Jokes About Bitcoin on Twitter With 23 Million Followers

In a lighthearted tweet, Elon Musk referenced Bitcoin in a tweet yesterday in response to a Twitter user.

He also tagged his girlfriend Grimes in the tweet, who is a successful Canadian singer and songwriter. Twitter momentarily locked the Tesla founder’s account, as well, believing that his account may have been compromised.

Context of Tweet

Twitter user @vicentes had responded to an Elon Musk tweet – where Musk professed his love for anime – with a serious question regarding whether Tesla accounts would begin utilizing 2-factor authentication. Elon Musk saw the opportunity for a joke regarding cryptocurrency, considering that many cryptocurrency companies and exchanges such as Coinbase, Binance, and countless others, utilize 2-factor authentication for security purposes. The tweet also used Sailor Moon, the lead character from an extremely successful 1990s manga series that is still popular to this day, wearing clothes endorsing Bitcoin, in front of a Bitcoin logo. Grimes responded to the tweet, joking that she would “prefer that free ethereum u promised”.

The tweet went viral, garnering thousands of likes and retweets within hours, and leading many cryptocurrency enthusiasts to inquire about whether Tesla would be accepting certain cryptocurrencies, and others took the opportunity to advertise cryptocurrency projects that they believed in.

After the exchange, Elon Musk revealed that Twitter had actually locked his account – which has over 20 million followers – over concerns that he had been hacked over his tweets. He then responded to the user @vicentes in a more serious manner, elaborating “working on it”, with regards to 2-factor authentication.

Recent Controversies

Musk recently caused a tremendous amount of controversy on Twitter months ago when he tweeted that he could take Tesla private at $420 a share – which some believed was a humorous reference to marijuana. Many investors also believed that the tweet confirmed that the Tesla founder was far too focused on Tesla short-sellers. The company’s shares were affected dramatically after the SEC then sued Musk for securities fraud, falling over 10% in one day.

Musk’s recent lighthearted tweets might be the result of the fact that he was able to reach a settlement with the SEC. The settlement would not only involve a $20 million dollar fine, but would also force Musk to step aside as chairman of the company. Many were surprised at the fact that Musk was able to reach a resolution, considering that he had previously walked away from a deal that many considered much more favorable.